1. Field of the Invention
This invention pertains to a flexible device for packing or support that can be used in a wide variety of applications, especially for flexible packing or support of objects during transport.
2. The Prior Art
The problem of packing objects, especially fragile ones, in a vehicle compartment, container, transport car, etc., has not yet been solved in a satisfactory manner, and in any event not in a sufficiently convenient, effective, inexpensive and universal way.
Thus, to pack objects in an automobile trunk, for example, mechanical packing means are provided in document FR-A-2,518,469, which, if they have the advantage of being adjustable, present the inconvenience of requiring attachment to the automobile trunk, which calls for punched holes and bolt fastening, operations complex and specialized enough so as not to be appropriate for all cases.
In the same line of thought, the practice is known of packing fragile units such as televisions in their packing cases using blocks made of polystyrene or similar materials especially for this purpose. This is a restrictive solution because it requires the design of a specific packing set for each unit; furthermore, the elasticity of the packing materials used can sometimes be considered insufficient for certain applications.
The pure and simple use of flexible foam to pack objects in a compartment for packaging or transport is not sufficiently effective, the packing thus obtained thus being inadequate because it does not prevent the object from moving in all directions, and such erratic movements may end up damaging the object, especially due to vibrations generated during transport, particularly by rail or road.
In the totally-unrelated field of bedding, in the area of elastically flexible mattresses, there are either mattresses made of natural or artificial foam, or "spring" mattresses. These mattresses have the disadvantage not only of being likely to move elastically in the orthogonal direction to the plane of the mattress, i.e., vertically, which is the desired effect, but also of being capable of appreciable lateral movement, i.e., horizontal, which is undesirable for users.
The exact same thing applies for known flexible carpets, which, in addition to the particularly desirable vertical elasticity in terms of comfort for the users who walk on them, also have horizontal elasticity that is undesirable and even dangerous.